Children and Poverty

I just finished writing a letter to one of the kids we sponsor. I hope you sponsor a child(ren). And if you haven't written lately, I encourage you to make that child's day with a letter.

In Kenya, inflation has more than quintupled, from 3.3 percent in August 2010 to 16.7 percent a year later, according to the Kenya National Bureau of Statistics. In Tanzania, school attendance is down 60 percent because kids are staying home to help their families earn money in any way they can. And the price of raw grains shot up 16 percent in Ethiopia. Droughts in the horn of Africa, the worst in 60 years, have seriously affected the lives of these at-risk kids. Your sponsorship helps keep food on the table. And your mail serves as a great encouragement.

What do you say? Talk about your life. Your holiday traditions. What you like to do in your free time. Places you have visited and what you liked about them. Subjects to avoid are politics, politics, politics and war.